Bilbo's front hall, 1995; Credit: © John Howe

The Cercle Cité on Place d'Armes in Luxembourg city centre will host an exhibition entitled "There and Back again, Tolkien's vision and beyond" from 9 February to 18 March 2018 in its Ratskeller.

Curated by Gilles Francescano, this exhibition is eing organised in the framework of the Luxembourg City Film Festival (8th edition), in collaboration of the Imaginales d’Epinal Festival.

Through more than fourty original drawings by John Howe, thirty of them are part of his work on Tolkien’s universe, while the others present the world of fantasy of the artist.

The graphite lead brushes against the paper and the pencil seems to slide across the surface, in a ballet that is almost improvised, according to the imagination of this artist who has left his mark on several generations.

How did John Howe, armed with nothing more than a pencil, manage to influence the imagination of this past century and lend his credibility to the fantasy genre?

At a time when everything is now digital, ever faster and ever louder, this artist is swimming against the tide, and has been carving out the same niche for decades now, with a wooden pencil as his only tool.

The art of John Howe is timeless, just like the man himself.

John Howe is a contemporary artist working in the entertainment industry, and above all he loves history and stories. His timeless approach to his surroundings seems to stem from an ancient soul who has come to us to tell us our story.

John Howe’s fantasy realism is rooted in his love of the Middle Ages, its artefacts and reconstitutions, and invites us on a journey through time, allowing us to rediscover epic stories filled with legends, historical or imaginary characters, fantastical beasts and excessive architecture.

Between his work for Peter Jackson’s films, his illustrations for the worlds of authors like Tolkien and Robin Hobb and his own research, John Howe lays the groundwork of a fantastic epic that will influence the dreams and nightmares of the children that we are for a long time to come.

Embark upon a journey to the edges of the Shire, rub shoulders with Gandalf, walk alongside the Fellowship or tremble during the Siege of Minas Tirith, guided by the hand of John Howe and by his pencil, under the watchful eye of the cheerful elf hiding behind his beard.

Discover way more about John Howe’s world and the many universes linked to his artwork, not only during the exclusive rendez-vous with the artist and the curator of the exhibition on Friday 9 February 2018 @ 12:00, but also by taking part in the rich framework programme during the whole exhibition time.

The exhibition is under the patronage of the Embassy of Canada in Belgium and in Luxembourg.